Desperate for help and on the verge of becoming homeless, handicapped labourer P Balan has turned to the Malaysian Human Rights Commssion (Suhakam) to resolve his predicament.
The bank had auctioned off his home in February in a purportedly speedy manner, after a freak accident left the welder paralysed waist-down and unable to repay his housing loans.
A metal column had crushed Balan, 37, while he was at work on June 22 last year, damaging his spinal cord and making it impossible for him to continue his job.
Now, he and his two sisters, as well as his sister’s three children, may be thrown out of the house that they are now occupying illegally.
They have already received a legal notice from the new homeowner, telliing them to vacate the premises…
Balan bought the house with a loan of RM115,000 in 2005. He was unable to service the loan from July 2015 onwards after the accident. He spent seven months in hospital, and for four of those, he was in a coma.
Even though the loan was covered by insurance, it was rejected by insurers due to insufficient medical evidence, and the bank proceeded to auction the property.
The family complained that the bank was unwilling to wait for a complete medical report confirming Balan’s paralysed state, which he only received in June after being discharged in January.
They later learnt that their home was auctioned off at a price of RM150,000.
Your views are valuable to us, but Sarawak Report kindly requests that comments be deposited in suitable language and do not support racism or violence or we will be forced to withdraw them from the site.